Researchers from Mote Marine set out Thursday morning from Sarasota to the site of a massive fish kill caused by red tide.
Earlier this week state officials confirmed a large-scale offshore fish kill in the northeast Gulf of Mexico. The announcement followed reports of thousands of dead and dying bottom-dwelling reef fish, sea turtles and crabs.
Officials said the kills were related to a red tide bloom— or Karenia Brevis, which is an algae that occurs naturally in the Gulf.
Vincent Lovko with Mote Marine said most of the information officials and scientists have right now comes from surface water samples—and satellite images. Lovko said that’s why he and a team from Mote Marine are testing below the surface.
“That all ties into our abilities to work towards predicting movement of red tide, occurrence of red tide and where the red tide is going to go,” he said. “If all we know is what’s at the surface and we don’t know what’s going on at the bottom, then that bottom population can be brought to the surface by a process called upwelling in other areas and that often happens along the coast.”
Lovko said Mote Marine will test temperatures, salinity levels, chlorophyll florescence and dissolved oxygen levels.
State officials recently reported satellite images showed the bloom was 80 miles long and 50 miles wide. It was located about 40 miles offshore between Dixie and Pasco counties.
